Photo Albums

January 26, 2010

Last weekend I attended my friend Leslie's baby shower and you know a baby shower means... not just a handmade present, but a tiny handmade present. What fun.

Once I found out Leslie and John were having a little boy, Jack, I knew I had the perfect little boy flannel fabric in my stash. Pair that with some cozy fleece and a crisp white onesie and out comes a perfect little baby gift - a bordered blanket and an embroidered onesie.

I traced the cute little bugs on the flannel to create the design for the onesie. I started off thinking the pattern was going to be easy and quick - I had forgotten about all the little legs on the little buggies. Even though the embroidery took a long time to complete (about two evenings while watching tv), I was really happy with how it turned out.

For the blanket, I loosely followed the Patchwork Trimmed Baby Blanket from Weekend Sewing - I just omitted the patchwork part and used strips of flannel to make the border. It was simple and quick to make.

All in all the only supplies I had to purchase was a yard of fleece - everything else I had on hand. Since I am in budget mode, this gift was really good for my pocketbook and I think the time and love I put into the gift make up for how little I actually spent. I kept with the theme of using what I have with the wrapping - an Amazon box, plain white craft paper and flannel and fleece scraps.

I can't wait till Jack is born, I think I may have more ideas for that soft buggy flannel fabric.

My apologies for the poor lighting in the pictures - we haven't seen the sun in St. Lou for a few weeks now!

January 20, 2010

Martha. Seriously, if I am in a store and see something Martha I will probably covet it. I used to love the Martha stuff at Kmart (I really miss those dish towels). I love Martha stuff at Macy's (my very favorite kitchen item is my red dutch oven). And now I am bombarded by Martha stuff at Home Depot. What is a girl to do?

January 18, 2010

After all the holiday crafting I thought it might be nice to relax on the sofa and crochet a little something for myself. First I had to find a pattern that I loved. One that didn't frighten me and that would use up some of my yarn stash.

I started my search on Ravelry and found the Anna Hat pattern. I hadn't thought about purchasing a pattern - I really love free patterns (doesn't everyone?) - but when I saw photos of the Anna Hat and its reasonable price I clicked on over to Etsy to buy The Anna Hat by CrocheTrend.

I used some mid blue Soft Yarn I had in my stash and really love the color. It just fits. Snug is probably good for a hat and I bet it will stretch a bit as I wear it. The pattern was really quite easy to crochet - the instructions were clear and well written. Overall, it probably took me about three hours to crochet while watching TV at the same time.

Only snag I ran across was that my crochet needle didn't fit through the button holes. Luckily I had some embroidery thread almost the same color as my yarn. It did the trick. I also tacked down the corner of the flap to keep it from rolling up.

BTW, if there are any iPhone users out there, I took these photos with ShakeItPhoto. It makes Polaroid inspired photos right on your phone. I absolutely love the effect. If my skin could look that clear and glowy in every photo. Guess I will have to keep using the app.

January 05, 2010

I have to admit I have been wildly
excited for 2010 to get here for a while. I think I was mostly looking for a
fresh start. I say that knowing 2009 wasn’t a bad year (I prove it to myself
later in this post), but it was really challenging for me.So, now that 2010 is here, my insides
are a mix of excitement for the future and fear of change. I am trying to
channel that fear into motivation and I have been looking for a good way to
express what I specifically want for 2010.

Last year I chose a word to define my
year and wrote a crafty to do list. Looking back, I think half of it was pretty
successful. I feel like I did a pretty good job with my word, but not with my
to do list. I am such a to do list person, but I am learning that to do lists
seem to be more successful in the short term. My to do list didn’t take into
consideration that during the year priorities may change and other needs
(versus wants) might become more important than sewing a jacket or learning to
free motion quilt. I look back at the to do list and focus on the things I didn’t
do, not the things I did (take a class and learn more about machine embroidery)
– and it surely doesn’t point out all the other great things I prioritized instead
(see list below). On the other hand, my one word, Grace, gave me space to ebb
and flow throughout the year (to make mistakes and try again) and it guided me
into becoming an even better version of myself with more defined priorities, a
clearer vision of my future and a desire to go out an grab my dreams (even if I
am scared).

I really believe that my one word was
more successful because it was grounded in Intention. So, I have decided to
pick a word for 2010, Choice, and because I still have a penchant for to do
lists, I have also decided to participate in Michelle from When I Grow Up blog
meme called 1 Thing in 2010. It helped me create a to do list of sorts, but not
one of grounded in what ifs or wishes, but one grounded in Intention.

Here are my 1 Thing answers. They are
wordy, so read at your own risk and know it is quite scary for me to put all
this out there for everyone to read, but we are all friends, right : )

If you were only allowed to have 1
Intention for 2010, what would it be & why?My one intention for 2010 would be to make sure that
every Choice I make, no matter how small or how large, is in alignment with my
core values. Small choices are just as important as large ones. Each Choice I
make that honors myself and my values of kindness, love, health, grace,
simplicity, family, creativity and faith will help me gain strength and
confidence. I intend for the choices I make in 2010 to help me move forward,
find clarity and gain momentum toward building the life of my dreams. My one
word for 2010 is Choice.

If you were only allowed to have 1 Goal for 2010,
what would it be & how can you achieve it? The one overarching goal I have
for 2010 is to actively pursue my future/my dreams. I think there is part of me
that always thought that if I wait long enough all the things I dream of will
happen, that the answers will just come. As I grow older I am realizing that
the only way my dreams are going to come true is if I am more of active
participant in the pursuit of them. There may be one little snag in this plan,
while I have an understanding of what I want for my personal life and am ready
to take steps to make that happen, I am still trying to figure out what I want
to be when I grow up. Is it what I am currently doing in a different
environment or is it something entirely new – I am just not sure. So, I
envision 2010 to be a year of exploring and questioning, of stepping out of my
comfort zone and trying new things.

If you had to do 1 New Thing in
2010, what would it be? Will you commit to it now? One of the things I am doing
to actively pursue my future is to sign up for classes on topics that interest
me. I am already signed up for a
natural health and wellness course and hope to sign up for a small business
course too. While taking classes isn’t new to me, the topics are. Okay, so
honestly I considered about putting Internet dating for the answer of this
question, but it still scares me so I am not quite ready to commit to it. There
just has to be another way.

If you had to get rid of 1 Thing
in 2010, what would it be & why? I would like to get rid of my tendency
toward negative language and self talk in 2010. Seriously, why is it so easy to
be hard on myself, to point out the negative instead of acknowledging the
positive? To get rid of negative language also means I am going to work on adding
positive language in 2010 – not just in self-talk, but in all conversation.

What have you achieved in 2009?
List it all!Looking back on 2009,
while I struggled to keep my head above water through most of it, I have to
admit I really did accomplish a lot, including: Took a crochet class and became
addicted • submitted 2 sewing patterns for a craft book that were accepted and
will be published in 2010 • had a sewing pattern published in a 2010 calendar •
lost 15 pounds • learned to make myself a priority amongst all my obligations,
realizing if I didn’t I couldn’t succeed in the other parts of my life • continued
to work through grief • purged a lot of clutter • caught up on outdoor
house projects • grew tomatoes for the first time • reveled in the simple glory
of nature while watching a cardinal hatch and grow • participated in a virtual
quilting bee and learned paper piecing quilting techniques • spent more time
with my friends • exfoliated negative relationships • reconnected with my inner
fine artist • was named my kickball team all-star • faced
challenge at work, gained confidence and kept fighting even through the hard
times • took good care of my Pop • made the decision to actively pursue my future

So my friends, do you have a one little word for 2010 or
answers to Michelle’s 1 Thing in 2010 meme?

Can I just say writing this post was really cathartic and
completely energizing. I am so ready for my fresh start in 2010!